About
The INSIGHT ConneX Story
In 2012, a longtime Baltimore organization called Inner Circle was rebranded as INSIGHT Leadership Groups. For decades these monthly peer groups have been an invaluable resource for Baltimore-area business owners and leaders across a wide variety of industries.
From the relationships developed in these peer group settings, INSIGHT Founder Mike Tich perceived an opportunity to facilitate deeper, more meaningful relationships between businesses. From that idea, INSIGHT ConneX was born, launching with a reception aboard the Pride of Baltimore in the Inner Harbor in October 2017.
INSIGHT ConneX Principals
Michael Tich is a sales and marketing professional who has owned and managed firms in manufacturing, executive and sales recruiting and was the CEO of a national franchise organization. Mike has served as Vice President of Development for Webb Mason, an integrated marketing firm in Hunt Valley, MD, and as Director of Sales for Brothers Services Company. Mike is a graduate of the University of Baltimore.
Mike is the founder/co-founder of the INSIGHT family of companies including INSIGHT Leadership Groups, the INSIGHT Community and INSIGHT ConneX.
Tony Di Fatta is a native of Baltimore and graduate of Calvert Hall College and Towson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. During his years at Towson, Tony was President of the university’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, an international Honors Accounting Society, and winner of the Member of the Year award.
Following college graduation, Tony began his career at KPMG, one of the top four international accounting firms, while studying for his CPA exam. After passing with a perfect score on the tax section, he continued in public accounting, eventually starting his own firm in 2013.
Outside of accounting, Tony has started a number of other companies, including co-founding the Baltimore Bocce League in 2009 and purchasing and renovating the INSIGHT Community building at 28 E. Susquehanna Ave. in downtown Towson, turning it into an incubator for small businesses and entrepreneurs in 2016. Finally, Tony co-founded INSIGHT ConneX in 2017.
Beyond his business activities, Tony is a member of the Associated Italian American Charities and a board member of the Baltimore Robotics Center.
Jim Rafferty is Principal of JMRketing, LLC, a Baltimore-based marketing and communications consultancy. Since 2012, Jim has worked with business owners across a vast range of industries to improve the ways they communicate with their prospects and customers.
A Philadelphia-area native and graduate of Ithaca College, Jim is a former radio announcer and program director, and a marketer in the home improvement industry for more than two decades. He is an INSIGHT Leadership Groups facilitator and voice-over artist as well.
Jim is also the author of Leader by Accident: Lessons in Leadership, Loss in Life, released in 2021 by Morgan James Publishing.
